Batman: You are the slinking coward who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Joe Chill: That was a lifetime ago! Batman: Yes, my lifetime. You took them without mercy or regret, and in cold blood, Chill! Joe Chill: How do you know this? How could you possibly— Batman: I know because I watched it happen. I know because I am the son of the man you murdered. I... am Bruce Wayne!

I've got one more thing to say, and it'll only take me a second. I've got two words that I want you all to remember, they're very important, and if I leave you with anything, I'm gonna leave you with these two words. And those two words are... (Beat)I'mBatman.

Luscious Precious (to Jim Gordon, who was Batman at the time): You die with the Signal sucked dry and dark. Because you are not Bat... (A hand pushes Luscious' head through the Bat Signal) Batman (yes, the actual one, Bruce Wayne): No... I am. Jim Gordon: ...You? Batman: Hello, Jim. Who died and made you Batman?

— Batman v2 #50

Superman: OK, I scared her by accident. You did that on purpose. Batman: I'm Batman.

Prosecutor: And juror number four, where do you live? Bruce Wayne: Wayne Manor. Prosecutor: Mhh-hm, occupation? Bruce Wayne: I own a corporation. Prosecutor: I see, and is there any reason you shouldnt be on this jury? Bruce Wayne:Yes, Im Batman. Later, Batman and Robin are patrolling Gotham:Robin: You did not. Batman: Of course I did. What else could I do? I was under oath not to lie.Robin: So, so what happened? I mean, I assume you're not on the jury. Batman: After everyone stopped laughing the judge told me this was a serious matter and that I would refrain for any further jokes. And then they put me on the jury.

Sheldon: I couldn't become Green Lantern unless I was chosen by the Guardians of Oa, but given enough start-up capital and an adequate research facility, I could be Batman. Leonard:You could be Batman? Sheldon: Sure! (gravelly voice) I'm Batman!... See?

Kramer: The bus is OUTTA CONTROL! So I grab him by the collar, I take him out of the seat, I get behind the wheel, and now I'm driving the bus! Jerry: Wow. George: You're Batman. Kramer: Yeah. Yeah, I am Batman!

Superman: But dude, you know what I would've done? Batman: Oh, I don't know, probably just- Superman and Batman simultaneously: Fly really fast, saving everyone from the bullets and explosions!Superman: Exactly! Batman: Yeah, well, I can't do those things. Because I'm not an super-bulletproof alien from another planet that can defy gravity. But you know what I can do? Superman: What's that? Batman: Make an incredibly awesome movie! ...You know why? Superman: [Resigned] Because you're Bat- Batman: Because I'm Batman!

Bruce Wayne: Dad's estate left me wealthy. I am ready...but first I must have a disguise. Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible...a...a...

- As if in response, a huge bat flies in the open window!

Bruce Wayne: A bat! That's it! It's an omen. I shall become a BAT!

- And thus is born this weird creature of the dark...this avenger of evil; 'The Batman'

— The original origin of the Batman, Detective Comics #33.

Terry McGinnis: You don't know your way around here. A lot of things have changed.

I made a promise on the grave of my parents to rid this city of the evil that took their lives. By day, I am Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthrophist. At night, criminals, a cowardly and superstitious lot, call me...BATMAN

Harley: There's one thing I gotta know: why'd you stay with me all day? Risking your life for someone who's never given you anything but trouble?

Batman: I know what it's like to try and rebuild a life. (gives her the dress she paid for) I had a bad day too, once.

Harley:...Nice guys like you shouldn't have bad days. (kisses him on the cheek, turns away - then plants one on him)

— "Harley's Holiday"

Ace: When I was little, Cadmus used to make me play all kinds of games. They'd strap me into their machines and poke wires into my brain, "Ace, can you move this object with your mind?" (uproots a tree and launches it into the sky) Yeah. I can move it. They weren't really games, you know. They were training me, turning me into a weapon — for "justice", they said. They got their weapon. I got cheated out of my childhood. Batman:I know what that's like.Ace: You do, don't you? (smiles) You don't have to answer. I've read your mind. That's how I knew you weren't going to use Mrs Waller's weapon on me. Batman: No. I wasn't. (drops Waller's kill-switch)Ace: You were going to try and talk me into fixing what I've changed...before I die. Batman: Yes. Ace: ...I'm dying very soon. Batman: Yes... I'm sorry. Ace:(quietly, crying) Would you stay with me? I'm scared. (Batman sits next to her — when he offers his hand, she takes it)

Its taken me years to accept what you told me back then, that you were there for me that night. Not as a vigilante swinging to the rescue, but as an ideal, as an inspiration. A voice I heard in darkness, commanding me to stand up. The same voice that tells us when we get beaten down, we can accept being a victim or choose to be the hero of our own stories. And we make that choice by standing up.

Batman is no noble hero. He isn't the person people look up to. He doesn't inspire others like Captain Steve Rogers would, or cradle hope like Superman can. He doesn't save a burning school bus full of kids that's going in the river. Batman isn't a hero. Rather, he would mercilessly stalk the deranged psychopath that wants to use school buses as tinderboxes, haunt his dreams, catch him when he least expects it, and burn a hole through his non-existent soul.

This is by deliberate choice and design. Bruce Wayne protects a city that murdered his parents for no reason at all. A city where good people are a fiction. They are either too scared to do the right thing, too smart to live anywhere else but in Gotham...or, like Martha and Thomas, dead.

Gotham City is so insidiously corrupt and broken beyond repair that it does not deserve a savior anymore. Ras Al Ghul did have a point there: no city which can murder a billionaire husband and wife in front of their only child on a cold, meaningless night deserves to be saved. Batman is the product of a city whose terrors and demons can only be fought by an equally terrible monster. A frightening, inhuman creature of the night. Not a hero. Not a guardian angel. Not a Messianic redeemer.

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